The First Peoples Disability Network Australia (FPDN) is the national peak organisation for First Nations people with disability, their families and communities. We are proudly owned and operated by First Nations people with disability, supported by allies with lived experience of disability.
Our purpose is to promote recognition, respect, protection, and fulfilment of human rights, secure social justice, and empower First Nations people with disability to participate in Australian society on an equal basis with others.
Mavis Wayne, photo by Belinda Mason OAM ©
How we do it
Our leadership, direction, and vision are driven by First Nations people with disability, their families and community. We work alongside First Nations people with disability across the country to influence public policy and advocate for the rights and interests of our people with disabilities. Our approach is grounded in both the social and cultural models of disability, which uphold a human rights framework and promote full inclusion.
The social model recognises that disability arises from systemic barriers within society and the physical environment that prevent equal participation. We reject the medical model of disability, which focuses narrowly on individuals rather than addressing the broader barriers that exclude people with disability. These barriers can — and must — be dismantled.
At FPDN, we also recognise the need to go beyond the social model by embedding the cultural strengths, identity, and community connections that keep First Nations people with disability strong. We call this our cultural model of inclusion.
Our work is underpinned by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Our Story
FPDN was born from a historic gathering of First Nations people with disability in 1999 — a powerful moment that sparked a national movement to advance rights, voice and justice for our communities.
Leadership & Culture
First Peoples Disability Network stands strong in culture and connection to Country, carrying forward the stories, wisdom and songlines of our ancestors and founding Elders.
Strong Governance
Inclusive, community-led governance grounded in culture, lived experience, and First Nations perspectives.
Access & Inclusion
FPDN leads with a culturally grounded approach to accessibility, ensuring inclusion is shaped by the voices, rights and priorities of First Nations people with disability across every aspect of our work.
Artwork by © Debbie Lee, “More to be done”. Gifted to FPDN 2025.
More to be done!
This stunning story tells of the work that still needs to be done for our most vulnerable — our Mob living with a Disability and our Elders, our knowledge keepers. The footprints show just how hard it can be to be heard, to be listened to, and tells of the many challenges our families face daily when having to access services or ask for any type of support that is available to anyone else. It tells of the additional layer of complexity that adds — having to always identify under a western model — and the additional risk that it places on our families simply by disclosing.
The spirits represent our Elders who have fought for us to have change, to be included in society equally, as with everyone else on Country. And whilst our mob have sat and yarned for centuries, the yarn is still going today. We are not our disability — we are someone’s family, someone’s son or daughter — and yes, we love our babies all the same.
Disability is not a word many of our families know, nor do we need to know, including my own family. A system does not determine who we are; it is simply designed so we can be the best version of ourselves, so our children can grow up healthy and strong, so our mob are included, so our future generations don’t have to have the same yarns we did, or that our ancestors did.
So there will always be more to be done — for our Governments and systems to understand what it is like being an Aboriginal person living with a disability — and that starts with a conversation. So when you walk into a village, you need to understand that the village is made up of many, and when we walk, we walk together.
So come sit with us now — there is more to be done, and we can do it together.
